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AGL Live Session: Mo Troper

Posted: 20th June, 2018 by The Editor

Mo Troper grew up learning from his heavily music oriented family and obsessing over 45s. He’d constantly be spinning his favorite songs, “Mama’s Pearl” by the Jackson 5, and the Badfinger’s “Come and Get It.” His grandpa played in a ‘60s pop band called Me & My Brother which, Troper says, “sounded like a worse Simon & Garfunkel.” Evidently, Troper has been wading through the voluminous sea of pop rock for as long as he can remember.

“The Poet Laureate of Neverland” is a salient song from his latest record, Exposure & Response; an album that addresses a distinct love for rock music that tends to sway when distracted by the bombastic state of the music industry. On the album, the song is played with a full band and includes an off-kilter brass arrangement, but Troper performed the song solo at Sounds from the House, letting the focus land on his aural sneer and sharp lyrics.

“Without giving too much away, the song is about someone who perceives themselves as a Christ-like figure, when really they’re more like a cult leader,” Troper mentioned. “I think there are a lot of people, in music especially, who might actually have some degree of power, but only within this very tiny world. To most people looking in, it just seems like Best in Show or some shit.”

A times, the music industry seems to have its own inflated ego and musicians like Troper know that avoiding it is virtually impossible. So, if he can’t beat them, he’ll join them with his unapologetic expression and strong desire to share his collection of songs that grow from bouts of screaming nonsense to impressive, meticulously arranged structures.

Mo Troper is making a new record that is “going to put all these pop-punk bands who just figured out how to rip off Big Star to shame,” but for now, check out the live video for “The Poet Laureate of Neverland” below.

You can download all of this live session along with all our previous sessions for Pay What You Want HERE!

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